Category Archives: Housekeeping

Yikes – have so much to do I wish today was a Wednesday. So while I’ve still got work to do, there’s no reason why you can’t get started. Here’s your Friday Happy Hour:

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
Terry Dean writes about competitive market places in How To Whip The Competition.

From My Life:

I’ve lost 4 pounds in the last 5 days following The Four Hour Body’s diet plan. And I track my weight pretty well, so that’s not water weight. I highly recommend the book for all things fitness, not just weight loss.

This is the second time I’ve tried the diet and losing 2-5 pounds per week was typical. I ended the diet 20+ pounds lighter the first go-around.

If you want to lose some pounds, get the book and follow the diet. It allows you to eat as much as you want, which is a big plus for diet plans.

And yes, it was written by Tim Ferris of The Four Hour Work Week fame.

Song To Start Your Weekend:
Hat tip to Wayne Buckhanan for picking an awesome song for Friday Happy Hour. Let this song start your weekend. Another week done and on to the next one!

Here’s to the first happy hour of 2011!

For those who are new to my Friday Happy Hour’s, at the end of each week I link to valuable blog posts, forum topics, social media users etc. that I stumbled upon during the week. You can check out the links during the last 10 minutes of work on Friday…

…or over the weekend, or on Monday morning. The only thing that is mandatory on Friday’s is that you listen to the song that starts the weekend

In any case, here’s your Friday Happy Hour.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
Ben Settle wrote a blog post that should be the poster boy for posts that NAILED-IT. Trashy Words That Make More Sales pinpoints the divide between English professors and copywriters when it comes to good writing. Or writing well. He also gives a handful of awesome words to read.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
And Ryan Healy weighed in on video and the future of copywriting, a topic that still has people asking questions.

I couldn’t agree more with his conclusions, and I left a comment with some of my observations.

From My Life:
I just finished reading the book 1491 by Charles Mann and it’s pretty awesome. If you can’t guess by the title, the book attempts to paint a more accurate depiction of what the Americas were like before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. (You know, in 1492?)

It really is very interesting and you’ll be in for a lot of surprises and challenges to your old beliefs. I highly suggest reading it if the topic interests you.

Song To Start Your Weekend:
After a long week of work, this song will make you feel good.

Time for the weekend. This week was busy, next week will be more busy with Turkey Day in the US. Gotta get some work done this weekend as well, but that’s no reason to delay happy hour. Here it is!

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
How to Get 147% More Readers ~ This blog post from Aweber shares several test results that mirror my own. Use them to get more subscribers!

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
Human Behavior Theories That Can Be Applied To Web Design -this blog post turns Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs in to a web design theory. Brilliant!

From My Life:
I love board games. I used to love games like Clue and Monopoly. Then one year when I was trying to provide friends/family with a Christmas list, I decided to Google “Best Board Games.”

I stumbled upon BoardGameGeek.com, and this list of the top 100 board games as picked by their web community. The top game has over 20,000+ votes. I’ve LOVED every game I’ve bought from this list, most notably Settlers From Catan and Carcassonne.

If you or a loved one appreciates a good game, check this list out for the holidays.

Song To Start Your Weekend
The Decemberists are a band from Portland, OR, right next to where I live. They just happen to be awesome. They’re about to release a new album, here’s a preview…

Super busy week for me and it looks like I’ll be working Saturday to finish some things up. All the same, it’s the start of the weekend for most of you so it’s time for Happy Hour.

Meaningful Forum Thread:
A regular blog reader here started a post at the Warrior Forum some time back that turned in to a sticky. And it’s now a very valuable resource, as you can tell from the title: Top Copywriting Books… Ever.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
The Second Most Powerful Word In Direct Marketing – This awesome blog post from Bob Bly will give you some ideas for your next offer.

From My Life
Last week my girlfriend bought me a bottle of my favorite wine, Maryhill Winery’s Cabernet Franc. It’s delicious. After just one taste she declared it the best wine she’s ever had!

Song To Start Your Weekend

Song To Start My Weekend

I’m actually on my way out the door for happy hour at a special location. It’ll be the start of a great weekend. If you can’t make it, here’s your Friday happy hour!

Meaningful Forum Thread:
I mailed about this forum post earlier this week. Here it is again for the blog: An Important Copywriting Question You Must Answer.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
Which sells best: stories or stats? – John Forde – a great copywriter and teacher – shares some amazing insights on storytelling vs. statistics. With a solid case study to back it up.

From My Life
New Myspace is here and I really like the way it displays, sorts and plays music. It helped me rediscover Tyler Fortier, a really talented artist I went to high school with. I really like the song “She Ain’t Your Girl” and “Pale Moon Rise.” Check him out.

OK, I’m headed out early for a special weekend. Going to some awesome places, I’ll post pictures next week.

“Let me be clear,” TODAY is election day in the United States. So if you haven’t voted yet and that’s important to you, please do so today.

That said, tomorrow is voting day. And so is the next day. And the day after that.

The great thing about living in a mostly free country with relatively free markets is that we get to vote everyday.

We vote to support businesses every day with our dollar. The businesses who receive the most votes stay in business. Businesses that don’t do enough to win support go under.

We all benefit by living among the businesses that succeed.

I think this is preferable to public elections as it’s the opposite of winner take all. In a public election, 51% get what they want and the other 49% are denied what they want.

But in a free marketplace, 100% of the people get what they want.

Everyone can shop at the stores they like without taking away the right of others to do the same. Stores may go under if there’s not enough support, but anyone can start a similar store if that’s where they’d like to shop.

And if you don’t like a particular business, you can start your own business and compete.

The only thing that gets in the way of this process are laws that may prohibit or impede certain businesses or exchanges.

That’s why I always vote carefully. I don’t want to vote for anything that might restrict someone’s choice.

(Note, I’m not talking about the pro-choice issue and I do not want to discuss that issue on this blog.)

Cont: I don’t want to vote for anything that might restrict someone’s choice.

I think denying 49% of people what they want is mean. And actually “mean” is probably not a strong enough word.

So I don’t use my ballot to take away others’ choices or serve my best interests. I vote to help ensure that 100% of the people get to make their own choices.

I hope you’ll keep this in mind when voting today. And tomorrow

Ray Edwards and Eric Graham were in my dream last night. WEIRD!

OK, Ok, they didn’t actually appear in my dreams but some words they published yesterday did shape my dream.

A tweet from Eric Graham:

Mediocrity happens not because a persons ambitions are beyond their capacity, but because they are beyond their discipline.

And Ray Edwards sent out an email thanking his favorite Internet marketing teachers. He sent it at 2am… and I read at 4:30am after it became clear I wasn’t about to fall back asleep anytime soon.

In the email he said Kirt Christensen helped Ray shape in his mind his Ideal Business: working 20 hours per week and making $100,000 per month.

How’d these appear in my dream? Someone challenged me with the quote on mediocrity. And I responded that I couldn’t meet my ambitions because I haven’t even defined my Ideal Business yet!

I’m going to be pondering both of those thoughts for a while. I decided to share them with you this Happy Hour Friday because they’re important thoughts to consider.

Here’s the rest of your Happy Hour Friday…

Great Twitter Follow:
@dhudiburg – Doug Hudiburg – Doug was my first copywriting client many years ago. He’s still producing quality content many years later, and is a great person to follow on Twitter.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
The Laziness Alibi: Legit Defense or a Clever Cover-Up for Fraud?

From My Life
Lumosity – Want to get your brain in shape? Try Lumosity! It has several brain stretching exercises to keep your mind nimble… and it feels great to see your abilities improve!

Song To Start The Weekend

Start your happy dance. We’re just HOURS from the weekend.

I had a very productive week and I hope you did too. To send us off, I have a few recommendations for you that will make life on Monday better.

Great Twitter Follow:
Lawrence Bernstein (@info_marketer) – Lawrence is a copywriter with a large collection of classic ads he generously shares on his blog. His Twitter feed is also a gem.

Meaningful Forum Thread:
A Warrior asked for help writing copy for a Prom Dress! I think the video I linked to surprisingly answers a lot of questions.

“Nailed-It” Blog Post:
11 Ways To Convince Readers To Buy Your eBook

From My Life
P90x Extreme Home Workout System This program is 13 weeks long and INTENSE. I’m on my last day of week 8 (but missed 4 days so far) and plan to keep going ’til Thanksgiving. The results have been fantastic: Leaner, stronger, faster, plus more flexible and nimble. Highly recommended.